3 ways Abbey Seals offers speed and efficiency for your business

Knowing the right tool for the right application can mean the difference between a sleek, efficient, smooth-running piece of machinery or disaster.

Case in point: the Challenger space shuttle. On January 28, 1986, the NASA shuttle orbiter, Challenger, broke apart 73 seconds into its first flight, killing all seven crew members on board.

The disintegration of the shuttle began after a joint in its right solid rocket booster failed at lift-off.

You might think that a catastrophic disaster like the Challenger was caused by a deeply complex problem – but the root was actually in the wrong O-ring.

It’s a key example of how even NASA can make the wrong choice when it comes to its seals and gaskets – in this case, with a catastrophic outcome.

If you’re working in procurement, you’ll need to make sure you’ve made the right choice – or face a dent in your bottom line and a potential PR disaster. Choosing the right provider and product is key; here’s why.

1. A specialist knowledge of the product and industry

When choosing your seals and gasket provider, experience trumps all else. At Abbey Seals, we have over 30 years’ expertise across both domestic and international industries so we know when and where to use the right parts for the job at hand.

“Understanding the applications and materials we use is very important to us,” says Sinead Holt, Marketing Manager at Abbey Seals. “We want to ensure our products are of the highest standard for our customers

“We are the only company in Ireland to manufacture both gaskets and seals. We manufacture products from a wide range of high quality materials. We also have over 140 pre-set profiles, which gives us the capacity to satisfy an enormous spectrum of seal and gasket applications.”

Factors to consider when choosing the correct products include:

Dimensions: Basic elements including the number of bolts, their size, diameters of the gasket needed, etc.

Applications: What is the product going to be used for: gases, chemicals etc.?

Lifespan: Will the product be serviced regularly or will it be sealed for operation?

Pressure: How much pressure will apply inside or outside of the pipe?

Temperature: Temperature fluctuations can cause stresses on the product from expansion/contraction.

Compatibility: Some combinations of materials are not compatible with each other and so this practice must be applied.

The knife cutting system is the optimal tool for cutting rigid and semi-rigid materials up to 12mm thick. Such advanced machinery also lends itself to higher productivity rates, which vastly reduces lead times on orders.

“On the seal side, the CNC Lathe arrived in-house in 2015,” says Sinead. “We are the first company in Ireland to manufacture seals on site with a same day turnaround. We recently took delivery of our second CNC lathe with a bar feeder so that we can manufacture machine parts up to 600mm OD – further increasing our output capabilities.”

It has over 140 pre-set profiles and has the added capability of creating bespoke profiles that can produce one-off orders for both domestic and international customers.

“While the manufacturing arm of our business is integral when a customer has an unusual spec or if there’s a long lead time,” says Sinead, “distribution is at the core of our business.

“We have a huge stock holding – well over 40,000 products so more than likely we have what the customer wants on the shelf. We distribute some of the world’s leading brands in this sector: Hallite, Freudenberg, Aston Seals, PPE & Simrit.

“Not only do we manufacture but we stock a huge amount of product up to high-end brands.”

3. Streamline processes

In 2011, Diageo Ireland approached us about streamlining its gasket manufacturing and ordering process.

At the time, Diageo was purchasing products from several different suppliers which in turn had a negative impact on order lead times and required skyrocketing procurement budgets.

We worked hand in glove with Diageo to streamline the business and now exclusively supply and manufacture the following products:

Soft cut gaskets.

Steam gaskets.

Packings.

Mechanical seals.

O-rings.

Oil seals.

Sanitary gaskets.

Bespoke seal kits.

Gasket sheeting.

Flexible bellows.

Ultimately, the seals and gasket provider you choose should work with an array of industries, offer case studies, and provide state-of-the-art technology.

Likewise, an in-depth product knowledge, an extensive choice of pre-set and bespoke products, and the ability to reduce procurement overheads and increase your bottom line are a must.

Do you need seals or gaskets?

We are Ireland’s premier provider of seals and gaskets with over 30 years’ experience. Whether you need a custom sealing product or one of the 140 pre-set profiles, we have what you need.

Get in touch by calling our offices in Dublin (+353 (0)1 427 7900) or Cork (+353(0)21 500 3555) or filling in the form below.